


Make Magic Happen

by ShipsforHistory



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Adventure, Eremin - Freeform, Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Magic, Semi-Modern Day, armin x eren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-03 07:38:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12743925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShipsforHistory/pseuds/ShipsforHistory
Summary: Eren Jaeger had always dreamed of becoming a magician ever since he was young. Him and his best friend Armin Arlert travel around to help Eren with his huge dream. Finding a job that accepts their "magic" was proving difficult. But along the way, Eren discovers a strange secret that not even he knew about himself.





	1. Inspiration

"Eren! I don't think this is a good idea!" The young blonde shouted out to his friend from on top of a high diving board. Scooting closer to the edge, his body began to shake more rapidly as the board decided to move along. He fell to his knees and peeked over the diving board. Everything seemed to spin once he finally understood how high up he was. "Eren! I'm too high!" His voice was shaking with pure terror at the thought of what Eren would want him to do from this height.

The dark-haired child looked up at the little boy on top of the diving board. He placed his left hand on his forehead to block out the sun. "I'm sure it'll work out!" He shouted back. Pulling out his wand from his back pocket, he rehearsed the magic words over and over in his head. Titandabra!

The wind started to pick up and brushed against the blonde's bare back due to him wearing forced to stay in his baby blue boxers. "Eren! It's freezing up here!" He complained, hoping Eren would allow him to take a break for the day. He even let out a few tiny sneezes to further his persuasion.

"Almost done!" Eren rummaged through a beach bag that he had brought with all his magic supplies. "Where is it?" He asked himself, now, pulling out all sorts of things like sticks and stuffed rabbits. He got tired of searching and starting dumping everything out of his bag. A black, crushed up top hat fell out of the beach bag which lit up the young child's face. "I found it Armin!"

"Does that mean we're done?" Armin's tiny body was starting to shiver viciously. There were too many temperatures rushing into his body at once.

"I haven't done the trick yet!" Eren punched out the hat, making the top pop up. Placing it on his head, he picked up his pretend wand and pointed it towards Armin. "Now, jump!"

Silence fell between the two for a split second. Armin looked down and saw a tiny glimpse of Eren's tiny childhood smile before pushing himself away from the terrifying sight of the faraway ground. That's when he knew, Eren wasn't joking. "Are you crazy?" The little blonde child wrapped his arms around the wooden diving board he had found himself on earlier that morning. "I can't do it, Eren!"

"What's going on here?" A girl with long black hair spoke as she looked up at the poor child that was hanging on for dear life. "Just jump down!" She called out. "It's not even that high!" It was literally a few feet tall. Almost the height of a third branch on a medium sized tree. Armin had been known to overreact but this was ridiculous. "You're having breakfast at our house Armin!" She bent down and picked up the magic kit Eren had scattered all around the ground.

Armin shook his head and continued to exaggerate the height in his mind. To him, the world looked about fifty feet high or so. Although the thought of Mrs. Jaeger's cooking did sound delicious and gave him what little motivation it could. Either that, or his now growling stomach that felt like it was eating itself. He slowly pushed himself toward the stairs to get down from that hell.

"Dang it Mikasa! I was about to do the best trick ever!" The short tempered, brunet shouted at the little girl with flowing black hair. "I was about to make him fly!" He dumped all of his magic supplies onto the ground once again and took out a magic book. It was worn out, so everyone could tell it was loved. It was a blue hardcover book with a top hat similar to Eren's with a magic wand inside of it in the middle of the book. Some of the top hat was starting to peel off. Eren vigorously flipped through the pages before landing on the one he wanted. He pressed the book against Mikasa's face. "See? It would've been awesome!" He ripped the book out of her face as his happy childhood smile returned to his face along with his sparkling unique green eyes. "One of these days, I'll be the best magician there ever was!" His eyes moved from the book and looked at little blonde headed helper. "With your help Armin, I know we can do it."

Armin nervously chuckled at the thought of having to go through that again. He nodded in a agreement anyway. As long as Eren was happy, he would do anything. His eyes soon landed on Mikasa. Her face covered by her long flowing hair that just loved to dance in the wind. She never showed much emotion, but her aura always gave her away. Even though she was still young like they were, she was the master at hiding her emotions.

"We should get going," she suggested while turning away from them. Without another word, she walked in the direction towards the house. 

"Wait!" Eren called out while throwing all the supplies into his bag that would've been neatly packed away if he didn't dump everything out. Grabbing his bag, Eren ran in the direction his adopted sister was heading.

Armin threw on his khaki shorts along with his long light green sweater, but he stayed behind. Watching them leave him behind without even a glance. This was fine though. It wasn't like he could stand on the same pedestal as them. They were so much better than them in every single way.

"Armin!" A familiar voice called out his name. Everything lit up around him when his eyes landed upon the brunet boy. "Hurry up!" Armin felt his heart fill with so much joy. Wiping a few happy tears away from his bright blue eyes, he ran towards them. They were the only ones who could see how much he was worth.

~~~

The Jaeger house wasn't very nice looking. They weren't known to be a rich family even though Mr. Jaeger was a well known doctor. The house was really small but very cozy thanks to Mrs. Jaeger. Once they entered the worn down mini house covered in rust and broken wood, the children were greeted with her sweet, warm, tender smile. Her hair was very long and shiny even with her darker brunette color. She always kept it in a mini side ponytail. Her eyes were the most precious things about her. They were this soft shade of brown with the kindest twinkle in each of them. Sometimes, no one could tell she had a weak heart. She was always so active and cheerful at least on the outside. Mr. Jaeger was the opposite. He was more serious and uptight about everything. Mr. Jaeger also had pretty long hair. His chin was always covered in tiny beard like hairs that gave it the rough texture. He wore glasses and had the same shade of green eyes as Eren. But, this place always felt like they were one happy family.

"Come sit down." Mrs. Jaeger motioned to the table that had plates already made up for the little children.

Eren was the first one at the long picnic table that was placed in the middle of the kitchen. He always sat near his father. For some reason, Eren always looked up to him like most little boys his age. Mikasa sat across from him, keeping her face covered with her hair as her head faced down towards the table. Feeling out of place, Armin decided to go home but was immediately stopped by the tiny brunet. "Sit next to me." Eren patted an empty spot next to him and pulled over on of the made up plates filled with crispy bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs that were always cooked to perfection in this house, along with a side of freshly toasted bread. Knowing he didn't have much of a choice, Armin made himself at home in that empty space next to his best friend.

Everything was perfect and warm. Everyone laughing and teasing one another. Except for Mikasa. She hadn't touched one pile of food on her plate. Bacon hasn't been ripped apart and the lump of scrambled eggs hadn't been dug into even the little piece of perfectly browned toast was left uneaten. "Eren is planning on making magic his career." So it did speak. Mikasa let those words out with a tiny bit of concern and disgust.

Eren's mother looked at Eren and smiled. "Is that so?" She was drying one of the cups with a towel that was made of the fine shades of pink. "I understand that you love magic and all, but I don't think it would be a suitable career to get into. Maybe you should have some more options just to get you started." Some may think that this kind of talk was too early for a child Eren's age, but the Jaeger's were all about money considering where they were living. Seeing their only son in a place like this hurt Mrs. Jaeger the most. She didn't want Eren to live in this type of place longer. "Maybe you can start out helping your father with his doctor's work."

Eren looked at his father and shook his head. "I want to be a magician Mom! It almost sounds like you think I can't do it!" He dropped his fork on his plate, making a loud CLANG noise.

"That's not true. You're magic skills have really improved, but I don't think that is a good place to start." She gently put away the recently dried cups away in the slowly rotting cupboards made up of hickory wood.

"Oh yeah! What do you know?" Eren's voice was raised and began shouting at his mother. "You've never worked a day in your life!"

Mrs. Jaeger threw the towel into the sink and turned to Eren with those rare fiery orbs of hers that would make anyone jump. In fact, Armin moved away from the younger brunet. She walked over and grabbed his tanned ear with a firm grip, using her thumb and pointer finger. "Don't you ever raise your voice at me!" She looked up for support from her husband who was too busy looking through the newspaper from yesterday night. "Eren," she sighed and straightened herself up, "I just don't want to see you throw away your life for one dream." She placed her hand on her heart that had begun to beat too fast, causing pain to shoot through her chest. 

"Let the boy dream Carla." Mr. Jaeger finally decided to chime in. "He is still young and dreams can change. Don't worry him with all this nonsense." He folded the newspaper, neatly, and stood up from the table. 

"You can't mean that, Grisha!" Mrs. Jaeger carefully sat herself down at the table. Beads of swear appearing on her face. She was losing control of her breath as it deepened and became more desperate. "Please talk some sense into him."

Mr. Jaeger motioned to Armin. "I'll take you home."

"Grisha!" Mrs. Jaeger called out with wide, disappointed eyes. Then they softened as if she realized that she was stupid to believe he would help.

The older Jaeger wrapped his arm around the little Arlert and lead him outside the door. The little blonde glanced back to see a smiling, waving Eren sending them off.

"Eren," A weak but loving female voice quivered from the wooden table still filled with the plates she couldn't clean up quite yet, "I don't think you will be able to make it as a magician." She covered her mouth almost shocked by what she just said, but he needed to know before things got out of hand. "The world isn't as great as you think." She used the table to help her up onto her feet with the last bit of energy she had. "Eren, I'm so sorry."

Eren kept his body directed toward the open door. His body shook as his fingers curled into fists. "Stay out of my life!" He shouted while running out of the opened door.

Mrs. Jaeger tried to go after him but ended up falling over herself. Breathing with all the energy she had left, she fell onto the floor. Mikasa ran over and held her up. The older woman grabbed the little girl's arm and held it tight. "Please look after him Mikasa. You are all he has when I'm gone. I know this is a lot to throw on your shoulders, but right now, you are all I have." Her vision began to fade as her body weakened. The grip around Mikasa loosened. "Please look out for him." She was out.

Mikasa laid her gently on the floor and ran out of the house. "Eren!" She called out due to her instincts. She wanted Eren. She needed Eren. So many things were happening in that one morning. 

On her way down the gravel road, she bumped into Armin who was walking alone. Her black eyes frantically looked around for Mr. Jaeger. "Where is he?" 

"He said he had to go for an appointment. He didn't say the name though." He watched the girl's chest rise and fall in a fast motion. "What happened?"

"Mrs. Jaeger collapsed! We need to find Eren!" She screamed with worry drilled into her usual emotionless eyes. 

Armin reached for her should but quickly pulled away his hand. He looked around as an idea popped into his head. "I think I know where he might be."  
Without another word, the blonde child grabbed the young girl's, surprisingly, delicate, pale hand and ran down the gravel road. Mikasa didn't have any trouble keeping up. In fact, she ran past him a couple of times. Soon, they reach a wide open space filled with the longest grass that was just the perfect shade of green. Each blade did their own little dance in what little wind brushed over them. The sun's light fell upon a lonely cherry blossom tree that was in bloom. The little pink petals spun around the tree as a few for lost in the springtime breeze. A young child with worn out out over coat stood, facing the tree. His eyes looked troubled while the tiny world around him looked so happy. Streaks from tears stained his face. The wind played through his hair as the sunlight sat upon it. 

"Eren!" Mikasa screamed. 

The young brunet turned to face her with his saddened green eyes. It almost seemed painful to tell him about his own mother collapsing after they just fought. 

"It's your mom!" Her lips quivered as her eyes began to blink, trying to force back the tears overflowing. "She collapsed again, but your father is busy!"

Eren nodded and rushed past them. He was used to these types of incidents. Due to her weak heart, Mrs. Jaeger would often fall over. Even though he drove her crazy, Mrs. Jaeger loved him to death. Eren was her miracle child. Mrs. Jaeger should've died on that delivery bed, but she made it through somehow. Her overjoyed face when she discovered that her baby boy was born healthy without any complications lit up the whole room.

He rushed through the wooden door and saw his mother laying on the ground. Her chest was no longer rising. Eren carefully made his way over.

"Mom?" His voice was hushed as it quivered along with the hand he reached out toward her. "I'm really sorry I yelled at you." Her body still had some warmth left, but it was quickly escaping her body. Eren gave the motionless woman a tiny shake. "Come on. We need to get you to the doctor." His mind was slowly realizing what had happened, but he was too stubborn to allow himself to believe it. "Mikasa and I can clean the house while you're gone. You could come home to a clean house." 

Once a firm, big hand landed on his shoulder, Eren broke down. Tears stung his face as they overflowed. It was almost painful to cry so many tears at once. He turned around and saw a tall man with rosy cheeks and dark blonde hair. 

"Hannes?" The little boy questioned. His eyes looked past him to see two of his friends standing near the opened doorway.

Mikasa's eyes were wide once they landed on the lifeless woman on the floor. The woman she used to see as her mother. The woman who took her in after everything she had done. She looked away from the sight and placed her quivering hand over her mouth. Armin stood there. Ready to cry for her. His fingers curled into weak fists as his body shivered along with everyone else's.

"Hannes! Help her!" Eren demanded while pulling the man down beside him. "Help me get her to the hospital!" He took hold of his mother's arm and tried to lift her body over his shoulders. Hannes shook his head and placed Mrs. Jaeger's body back onto the rotting floor. Filling with anger, Eren kicked the older man in the arm. "Why won't you help?"

He placed his hand over his face and started to sob. "There isn't anything we can do for her now." Hannes hiccuped as he sucked in a shivering breathing. "You're mother is dead."

"You're wrong!" Eren yelled with a higher pitched voice. Everyone could almost hear the poor boy's heart breaking. The feeling of guilt rose inside his heart. "She just needs some sleep." He reached for the corpse, but Hannes grabbed the little one's wrist. "What are you doing? We need to get her to bed!" Eren fell back onto his knees. His tears, once again, overflowing. 

Armin walked over and wrapped his arms around Eren. "I know it's hard. Take all the time you need to cry and grieve." Something he was unable to do.

Little Eren cried into his friend's shoulder. Warm, salty tears tickled Armin as they rolled down his arm. Mikasa kept her distance despite wanting to go over and hug Eren herself. She could understand his pain because she had lost both her parents in a robbery. She held her hand against her heart, trying to make it stop beating to fast.

~~~

Darkness surrounded them. Only the rustling of trees and chirping of cicadas were heard. His eyes were weak, but he could see moving shadows. One of the shadows was holding something sharp that released some type of liquid.

"What is that?" The little boy asked weakly.

The shadow looked at him and shook his head. "Don't you worry about that. Just relax." The voice sounded familiar, but the child couldn't seem to remember where it came from. "This is a serum that could help you fullfil your dreams." 

The shadow lunged toward him and forced his arms and legs down. Fear rose inside the young child's tiny heart. He struggled to set himself free from the firm grip. The sharp object penetrated his skin, making the child scream out in pain as the burning liquid was inserted inside of him. His vision became clear. A familiar face caused his heart to stop.

"Dad?"


	2. Step One: Yourself

Armin took the groceries rolling his way into a paper bag for the sweet old lady that came into the shop. "Would you like some help taking these outside?" He asked already lifting the bag into his hands. 

"Oh thank you young man." She smiled while handing the trembling dollars to the cashier which was Eren.

Everyone must've been busy because the boss never wanted them working together after a tiny incident involving the kitchen knives. Eren wanted to see if he could make them fly by throwing them in the air. Luckily, no one was injured because he used Armin as the test dummy. Let's just say it took a lot of money out of their paycheck that weak. Money they couldn't afford to spend.

"Thank you ma'am." Eren did smile at the customers, but Armin knew that smile was fake. This wasn't what he wanted to do. They moved to the city to find magician opportunities. His tricks were too dangerous for children but too simple for adults. Right now, they were workers at a store doing street performances on weekends. "Take care of yourself." He waved to the woman who was making her way to the door.

"I hope you found everything okay." Armin gave her a smile while pushing the door open with his back. He took her groceries to her car and placed them in the truck. "Have a safe drive home!" He called to her while backing his way to the store.

Eren leaned over the cash register with his usual bored look. The corner of the register had lifted Eren's green uniform shirt a bit, exposing his lower stomach. "When is our shift over?" 

Armin walked over to the bagging area and set up another bag for the next costumer. "Not for another couple of hours." Armin walked behind the case register and pulled Eren's shirt down. "I'm sure it'll fly by if we just keep ourselves busy." He lifted the box of unwanted food and other objects. "I know you hate working here, but we need the money." Walking toward the aisles filled with bread, Armin rummahes through the box and placed a few candy bars in his pocket. He never told anyone that the security camera in the bread aisle had broken down. It still moved, but it wasn't picking up any footage. "Be grateful we were able to get it. If it wasn't for Mikasa sticking up for us, we wouldn't be here."

Mikasa had become a proud owner of a knife and sword factory known as Lovely Swords. She moved her business to the city to keep an eye on Eren. On her first day here, her swords were able to sell very well. Mainly due to cosplays and fencing. Some believe that Eren was a bit jealous of Mikasa. She could live her dream, but he couldn't live his. But Armin knew, it wasn't true. Eren was very proud of his adopted sister. He refused to live with her or take any money from her.

Eren popped up behind Armin and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "Yeah I know, but it still blows." He looked down at the box and rummaged through it.

"If you find anything, make sure it's small enough hide." Armin gave him the box but took out the unwanted bread. He made sure to put them neatly back on the shelves.

The bell rang toward the entrance. A woman with shortened black hair walked into the room. She was wearing a tight black skirt along with a light pink striped jacket over a white tank top. She may be rich, but her fashion sense wasn't the best. Taking off her black shaded sunglasses, he looked around the store. She grabbed a small package of strawberry flavored bubblegum and tossed it on the tiny table that was supporting the cash register.

Eren went back to his post and rang her up. "One ninety-five." He held out his hand while the woman pulled out a black leather wallet with yellow and green beads dangling from it. She pulled out a two dollar bills and handed it to him. Typing in the amount into the cash register, he let out a tiny sigh. "I don't know why you always come here for the same thing Mikasa. I know you're checking up on me." He took out the change of a nickel and tossed it to her.

"Well I have to make sure you aren't doing anything too reckless." She sighed and shook her head. "Remember the knives?" 

"I thought I could do it that time." Eren walked away from the cash register and started helping Armin return the unwanted objects to specific spots. "Plus it was a while ago and Armin came out just fine." 

"Eren, I don't want you to lose this job over something stupid." The worry wasn't able to hide behind her monotones voice. After that incident, she figured out what Mrs. Jaeger had meant that day. Plus, Mrs. Jaeger had given her the responsibility to make sure Eren had a successful future and stayed unharmed. And he was defiantly making that difficult. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

Eren ignored her and continued to return unwanted objects. It wasn't until she tried to step forward, he snapped. "Just fuck off Mikasa!" He yanked the box out of Armin's hands and disappeared through the Employee Only door toward the back of the store. 

Mikasa watched with a worried expression. Her eyes glided over to Armin. "Maybe you could talk to him?" She said it like she was questioning herself.

The blonde male shook his head. "It's impossible. Eren is set on his dream and determined to make it happen." Armin glanced at the door then back at Mikasa. "All we can do is stand here and be his friends. If this while magician thing doesn't work out, we need to make sure we can support him." He headed back to the cash register and looked through the lottery cards to make sure none have tried to join the others. "I know it's hard just to watch, but he needs to learn it on his own because all we're doing is blowing hot air at him."

Gazing at the door one last time, she walked toward Armin and pulled out a few twenties. "Take this." She made it sound like a demand. "Eren won't but you can. Use it to help support him." 

Armin pushed it back against her chest. "You know I can't." 

Her head slightly nodded. Her fingers curled around the box of bubblegum tightly and slowly crushing it. "I understand, but you can come to me whenever you need help." She didn't allow him to speak another word as she made her way out of the store. 

Eren rushed out of the backdoor and pulled Armin over to him. "Let's get the hell out of here!" He yelled and tossed his shirt to the floor. "Yours too!" Without the blonde's consent, he ripped the green shirt right off of Armin's pale body. Even the dim store lights were having fun reflecting off his flesh.

"Eren!" He wrapped his arms around himself while trying to fight away the freezing draft running up his back. "I can't handle the different temperatures like you do!" A sneeze escaped his lips as he reached for his shirt. Maybe he could wear it as a jacket.

Eren tossed the old wrinkled green shirt into the trashbin behind him. "No Armin! Get out of here! Let's go explore the world!" He shook Armin's shoulders as his excitement began to overwhelm him. "Let's see France! Italy! Spain! Everywhere!" Eren hopped onto the counter almost like he was going to begin a music number. "Come on Armin! What do you say? Just you and me!" He held out his hand and awaited his friend's response. "Just think about it. We could even perform our magic where more people can see. Wouldn't it be fun being impaled about four times in a box?"

Armin let out a nervous chuckle at the last bit. "As fun as that sounds, we don't have the money for it." He felt bad raining all over Eren's happy mood like that, but it was true. As much as it sucks, money was everything this world wanted. Without it, they were nothing. This wasn't their old little town that accepted them for they were. This was a city filled with rich people who spat on the poor. He took his shirt out of the trashbin and brushed off whatever decided to stick to it. "Come on. We can leave the shop early today. No one comes in on Sundays anyway."

"Probably because it's a church day." Eren hopped down from the counter and headed toward the back room with Armin.

Armin and Eren opened their lockers. Armin got into his ruffled oversized blue sweater and swapped out his black work pants with his long khaki pants. Eren threw on his worn out red jacket over a beige t-shirt. He slapped on a light brown beret that looked like it could've came straight out of Newsies. He even had a little tote bag that he threw over his should. Instead of being filled with dimes and newspapers, it was filled with his magician supplies.

Eren slammed his best friend's locker, causing the blonde man to jump while pulling his hand away. "Let's get the hell out of here my dear friend." His tan hand was rough when it wrapped around Armin's silky smooth pale one. "Let us go entertain the folks on the street." Eren kicked open the back door and dragged Armin down the bread aisle. Everything to Armin was just a lot of tan and white blurs. Eren threw open the glass doors and took a deep breath of the fresh city air. "Isn't this wonderful Armin?" He released his little buddy's hand and spun around in the empty stone streets. "What better place to get noticed than in the city?"

"Maybe New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, but those are just in America." Armin searches through his brain for any where they are. "Here I think it would be Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. Those are pretty populated with people."

"Still feeding that brat ideas, huh?" The two boys could recognize that deep, snobbish voice anywhere. Jean Kirstein. He was one of those rich men who looked down upon others. In fact, he was flipping through a wad of cash that made Armin sick. The Kirstein family owned the glue factory which meant this fucker hadn't worked a day in his life. "Too bad you're too poor to go anywhere. I bet you can't even afford your own candy."

Armin then realized, he had forgotten the candy bars in his work pockets. Oh well. The washers would clean it up anyway. 

Eren pressed his teeth together and clenched his fists. "Shut up Horse Face!" He lunged forward with an arm raise, but Armin grabbed ut quickly and pulled it back. "Let go of me Armin! This guy has spat on us for the last time!"

He sighed. "If I allow you to beat him, we would be out of a paycheck for a while."

Jean let out loud cackle before running his fingers through his spiked tannish-brown hair that was places on top of his head. "Yeah, listen to your little friend there. You wouldn't want to lose what little you have left." He crossed his arms and looked down at them with his smug looking light brown eyes. "Punch me if you can Magic Boy."

Eren's body shook with anger as his nails dug into his palms. He looked at Armin when his eyes softened. He put down his fists and released the pain he was causing them. "I don't need to." Extending his hand with a smile, Eren took his friend's hand and pulled him in the direction they were headed to begin with.

"Mommy whipped you into shape pretty well. All I have to do is spoil my bitch of a mom and she allows me to do whatever I want." Jean insulted yet bragged at the same time.

The brunet stopped and faced Jean. Not with anger. Not with rage. But with sympathy. "You should be happy to spoil your mother because some of us don't have one to." Eren turned away continued down the street, now, filled with silence. 

~~~

They rushed into the tiny rundown apartment they called home. Eren released Armin's hand. They rushed around the tiny room avoiding the queensized mattress that wad just laying on the carpet full of clothes. Eren searched through the piles of clothes and pulled out the magician's hat. The one he had since he was a child. As stupid as it sounds, the brunet cherished that hat to no end. Why? Because his mother made it for him. 

~~~

Mrs. Jaeger sat in the tiny rocking chair in the corner of her bedroom and carved and sewed each piece by hand. She would is their each and everyday until it was time for her family to arrive back home. No one noticed the decrease in her weight from skipping meals or the bloody bandages that dressed her finger except for the tiny brunet. Eren pushed his plate filled with beef curry and white rice in his mother's direction. The young mother's eyes filled with tears as she reached for her son. That little boy meant the world to her. No matter how much of a pain he was, she would always love him.

After dinner, she would always return to that hat. Taking it apart. Repairing it. She had to make sure everything about this magician's hat was perfect. The lamp beside her was blazing all through the night as her husband slept in his twinsized bed. She hummed to herself while pulling the thin but sturdy thread through the material until her work was finished. 

The next morning, a young brunet child had woken up to see a brand new dream resting on his nightstand. It was that day true happiness was brought to that young boy's life.

~~~

Now that the young boy was older, he understood his mother's worry about his future. She wanted to support his dream and that is what the hat used to represent. Now, it represented everything about her. Wren believed her love for him was wrapped inside the hat with each and every stitch. Laugh if you want, but this silly little hat meant the world to him. It was all he had left of the woman who loved him endlessly when everyone around him turned against him.

"Eren!" Armin called to him while buttoning up his black dress up suit. "We have to go or else we'll be late." He fixed his bowtie. 

Eren put his cape over his red cost and nodded. "Let's do this!"

A knock at the door interrupted their enthusiasm. The two young men look at each other with pure fear. They both gave each other a you-open-it type look. Finally, Armin worked up the courage to open the door. A rather short woman with platinum blonde hair with fierce silver eyes with a flame lit in the pupils.

She held out her delicate small pale hand and curled her fingers in a 'gimme' type way. "You haven't paid rent in a while."

Rico Brzenska was their landlord. She may looked like a delicate flower, but that was far from true. Surprisingly, she had been very lenient on the two young men, but she couldn't allow them to run her over too much. She needed a living as well.

"Sorry Miss Brzenska," Armin bowed in apology, "we don't get paid until Tuesday."

She grabbed his earlobe firmly and pulled him down to her level. "Three weeks Armin! Three weeks!" Letting out a sigh, she loosened her pinching grip placed around the poor darker blonde lad. "Fine! But this is the last time. I can't keep doing this for you two. It makes bad business."

Armin yanked his ear easy and chuckled while ignoring the tiny indent placed upon his earlobe. "Thank you Miss Brzenska."

Eren looked out the tiny window in the room and saw the normal crowd gathering around their meeting spot. He quickly rushed past the two, once again grabbing Armin's hand.

"Talk about this later!" Armin called out while trying to keep up with his excited brunet friend. 

~~~

The city square was filled rich and poor folks. Eren may not be able to use real magic, but he certainly brought magic to this tiny section of the city. This was the one and only time of day where rich and poor could be happy with one another. The table was already placed in the middle of the crowd for Eren to do his tricks. Well, his simple tricks.

Armin hoisted himself onto the tiny round table, praying it didn't fall over due to the tilting caused by the loose stone in the street. "Welcome to our show everyone!" He bowed in thanks before straightening himself back up. "Now! The man you really want, Eren Jaeger!"

The crowd boomed with cheers and claps along with a few 'boos' as Eren hopped onto the table while Armin hopped off. "Thank you to everyone who came out tonight! I hope that this will be a lovely experience for all of you." Soon a certain fellow caught the attention of Eren. A man he had been idolizing for years. The one and only, Levi Ackerman. 

Levi was one of the best magicians in all of Germany, at least on Eren's mind. He wasn't known to be a tall or nice man, but he was known for his crazy magic that Eren longed to know.

He jumped off the table and spun around when suddenly a tiny white rabbit with pure blue eyes appeared on the table. "I introduce Armin Junior!" Wren lifted the little rabbit that was the size of his palm. "We need to help him grow!" He placed his hand over the tiny rabbit. "Help him believe he can do it!" 

The crowd cheered on for encouragement as the rabbit began to grow inside the magical brunet's hand. He grew and grew until he could no longer fit into the palm he sat on. Eren looked up at his short idol. Obviously, Levi kept a straight pokerface considering he may have done this trick before. 

Eren held the tiny creature above his head and released it into the air. The white puffball began to float in the air. Unphased and unharmed. It hopped around the air as a trail of 'magic' dust followed behind him. "Anything is possible!" Eren called out while pulling a dart from his back and aimed it toward the newly grown rabbit. "People will try to crush and break dreams!" He threw the dart into the rabbit, making it explode in a thousand tiny pieces of glitter that fell upon the amused and traumatized audience. The brunet bushed his hand over his hand and brought back the rabbit everyone believed was just murdered. "Don't ever let those dreams die." He pulled out a piece of stone and placed it on the tip of the rabbit's ear. It balanced on the thin, pink ear with tiny pieces of white fur around it. "Dreams will only become stronger. Almost like us." He placed the rabbit onto the table and pulled over his lovely assistant, Armin Arlert. "My friend is a prime example." He took the stone from the rabbit and placed on Armin's head. "This tiny stone is the weight of the world." Eren snapped his fingers which made the stone slowly grow and become heavier. Armin was beginning to sink into the stone beneath him. "That weight will only get heavier." The blonde placed his fingers around the growing stone and lifted it up. "But you have the power to become stronger if you just try." He kicked his magician's hat toward the crowd and bowed. "Being strong is easy, but finding something to be strong for is very difficult." His eyes drifted to Armin who was allowing the children to inspect his muscles which weren't very strong. "Once you find that something, anything is possible." 

The crowd sent a wave of applause their way except Levi, for he was no longer in the crowd. Eren looked over the crowd, but he could no longer see him. Armin soon pulled him down from table. "Let's head home." The blonde smile while picking up the magic hat now filled with coins and cash. 

Eren nodded and grabbed the rabbit. He wrapped his hand around Armin's tightly. The warmth from the blonde's hand sent chills down his spine. Without a word, the two young men made their way to their rundown apartment.


	3. Step Two: Getting Noticed

"Is this some kind of joke?" The petite young woman with a twitching, stern, frustrated face asked while holding a tiny dime in her palm and stood in their door way. She looked up at the young blonde man. His face told her that it wasn't. Her fingers curled around the tiny coin with pure frustration. "You said you would have my money today!" She threw the dime at the poor blonde and grabbed him by the collar. "You get paid on Tuesdays, right? So where's the money?"

Armin chuckled a bit and glanced at Eren. "We kind of got fired."

Her eyelids blinked with confusion as her fingers released the young man's collar. "How did you two get fired?" She looked St Eren and frowned. "Him I can understand, but not you Armin."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well..."

~~~

Eren was standing at his usual post, behind the cash register, helping the customers that came in. But like usual, Eren was known to get bored. There was only so much tolerance the young man had. He hopped on to the countertop and held out his hand to the young woman. "May I borrow a dollar from you madame?"

"Excuse me?" Her face seemed confused by the sudden question. She pulled a dollar from out of her small red leather purse that was secured around her wrist. "Here." She handed it to him with concern and took a few steps back.

The people waiting in line started to back away as well. Eren stretched out the dollar over his head. "Ready to see a free magic trick?" He asked the audience but they just remained silent. A few checked their watches and tsked with impatience. "I need a penny from the audience!"

A little girl with her father reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a penny that had all kinds of dirt and scratches on it. She ran up to him and held it out. "Be careful please. My mommy gave it to me."

His eyes saddened while his lips smiled. He bent down and gently took the tiny coin from her tiny hands. "I'll be extra careful." 

The little girl clapped while running back to her father's side. Eren began to rip the dollar bill into tiny pieces and laid them flat on his hand over the penny. "Have you ever felt trapped?" His hand hovered over the strips of green and twitched his hand a bit, causing the dollar strips to curve into a paper-like cage around the beaten up penny. "Have you ever felt like who you are now is all you will ever be?" His fingers curled ever so slightly, making the paper cage slightly close down on the penny. "Have you ever felt beaten or sad or unloved?" Once again, curling his fingers slightly while making the cage smaller around the defenseless penny. "Have you ever felt weak?" Again. "Have you ever felt like just ending it all?" His hand slammed into a fist while the paper cage squeezed against the penny, causing the beaten down coin to fall apart into a few tiny pieces. 

The little girl gasped in horror but kept her distance. Her hand over her mouth while her eyes twitched with sadness.

"We hate those feelings, but what would happen if they just disappeared?" He clapped his hands together and the remains of the penny just disappeared along with the cage. "What would we have?" He rubbed his hands together. "Happiness?" The penny appeared in his hands all shiny and looking brand new. It sparkled in the flickering dim store lights. "Joy?" He snapped and dollar bills fell from the ceiling. "But would those feelings of happiness and joy be real?" He tossed the penny in the air as the dollar bills wrapped around it tightly. "Saddness. Pain. They are all here to remind us that we are still alive. It hurts to no end until you find that one thing that makes happiness real." He snapped his fingers as the once shiny penny poked out of the crushing paper all beaten and scratched up again. "Happiness doesn't mean new and shiny. Happiness can be found in anything." The penny floated down into the palm of his hand and tossed it back to the little girl. "Happiness can be found in a dirtied up old penny." He watched the little girl hold that penny close to her heart with a smile. "But for some of us," The dollar bills wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and neck, "are unable to find that happiness. Some of us have to live life not knowing if our happiness exist." The paper transformed into tightening shackles. "Are we not allowed to be happy?" The shackles sliced his skin causing a tiny paper cuts. "Does our happiness even matter?" The paper cuts become a bit deeper. "What even is faith?" Deeper. "Am I even loved?" Deeper. "Why can't I be happy like them?" Deeper. Blood poured out from his tiny wounds and on to the countertop. A smile still on his face, Eren stepped forward. "Keep moving. It hurts. But if you stay in one place to long, you're bound to get hurt." He jumped off the countertop and on to the marble floor. The dollar bills flicked the blood off of themselves and flew inside the young woman's purse. "Just keep moving and never hold back. Everyone here is capable of finding happiness but some of us are too lazy to even search. Finding happiness is never easy, but that's how it's supposed to be. Happiness is a reward given to those who try. The tiniest thing could mean the world to someone." He held out his hand to reveal a tiny beating heart made out of the blood he had shed.

The store door opened to reveal a very dark skinned man with an angery expression. "Jaeger!"

Keith Shadis. He was the owner and boss of this store. He was very dark with wrinkles on his forehead, probably from constantly frowning. He had a black miniture beard on his chin and that was the only patch of hair on him. He hated Eren from the beginning, but thanks to Mikasa bribing him, Eren was able to get this job. Armin got the job easily due to his intellect and responsible nature.

"Uh oh." One of the rules was NO MAGIC since it stopped customers and money flow. 

His fists clenched as his breathing became deeper and more aggressive. "In my office." He spoke through his teeth to avoid scaring the customers. "Arlert!" He called out.

Armin ran out from behind on the aisles, holding a box of unwanted objects that he had been putting away. "Yes sir?" His dark blue eyes landed on Eren and sighed. His shoulders slouched as he nodded.

The two boys walked into the back room and prepared for their lecture. "What did you do?" Armin decided to ask while they waited.

"Just showing the customers some magic." Eren answered while pulling some cards out of his short sleeved green work shirt. "Pick a card."

The blonde just sighed and picked out a card. "This is so bad." Eren held out a hand of spread out cards and Armin placed his picked out card into the deck. "This is the only stable job we have Eren."

He shuffled the cards and slid the entire deck into his mouth and swallowed. "We have our magic shows." Eren reach into his mouth and pulled out a card with a King of Hearts. He held it up for Armin to see.

The blonde man nodded. He threw his head back as he let out a loud sigh. "But those are just tips. They won't help us with the food or rent or clothes." His heart was just sinking at the thought. They had never lived on the street before. 

"I'm sure Miss Brzenska will give us more time." Eren ruffled his hair as the cards rained on to his lap.

Armin rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands and groaned. "I don't want to keep doing that to her." He took a card from Eren's lap and began to fold it into seven parts then handed it back to his magical friend. "She shouldn't have to give us more time."

Eren took the folded up card and flicked it in the air. "Relax. I'm sure everything will work out." He reached inside Armin's ear and pulled out a Six of Diamonds.

The door opened as Keith walked through the door. "Eren Jaeger you're fired!"

He stood up from his seat and looked at him shocked. "You're going to fire me over one mistake!"

"One mistake?" Keith went behind his desk and pulled out a file filled with reports. Of course, Eren's was full of them. "My patience has run out on you Jaeger! People like you are the reason my store isn't doing well!"

Eren pointed his finger at his ex-boss's face. "Or maybe it's because people like you exist!" He crossed his arms over his chest. "You're firing me for making the customers happy?"

"No! I'm firing you because you have detroyed my business with your childish games!" His hand slammed against the file. "It's time for you to grow up! These silly magic tricks will get you no where in life! The world isn't about fun and games! Didn't your parents teach you anything!"

His heart sank as the fight scen with his mother appeared in his head. "They taught me everything. It's you who doesn't know shit!" Eren slammed his fist over Keith's hand and walked out.

The bald dark man held his hand while watching the brunet leave the office. His eyes soon landed on Armin. "As for you Armin Arlert, you're fired for stealing."

His eyes widened. "What do you mean?" 

"We got those security cameras fixed days ago." He sat in his seat and started his filing work. "Goodbye Arlert."

All his nightmares are coming true. "Yes sir." He left the office then the store with his head hanging low.

~~~

"That's what happened." Armin's awkwardly nervous smile grew as it twitched. "We'll get you the money. I am going out to get a job now."

The platinum blonde chick shook her head while wrapping her arms around her chest. "I'm sorry. I can't keep postponing your rent. I have bills that need to be paid in order to keep this place running. I can't afford to have non-paying customers anymore." She looked away and sighed. "I am evicting you from your apartment. I'm sorry." Before another word was spoken, she walked away as fast as she could.

"Miss Brzenska! Please!" Armin called down the hall but she was gone. Everything was cumbling around him. He was jobless. No money. No shelter. He fell to his knees in the doorway and pressed the palm of his hands against his eyes. "What are we going to do now?" He asked himself but Eren decided to chime in.

"We get a job." He grabbed his tote bag filled with his magic supplies and ran out the apartment room, making sure to pull Armin along on his way out. "There is only one thing I'm good at and that's magic. I'm sure someone will hire our entertainment."

"Are you sure that will work?" Armin looked up at the back of his friend's brunet covered head.

"We can do it Armin." He whipped his blonde friend around so he would see his face. Armin accidentally slammed against the brunet's chest. It was firm and surprisingly muscular. Eren lifted Armin's chin so his eyes could meet his. "All we need is each other." 

Armin's heart skipped a beat at the sudden statement. He knew what Eren meant by it, but it still made his heart race. "Yeah. You're right." He looked away toward the stairs. "What about Mikasa? We could stay with her until we get back on our feet."

"No!" Eren shouted. "We can not let Mikasa. She'll just over react. Plus she's busy with her business." He got down on his knees and wrapped his hands around each other. "Promise me you'll leave her out of this."

Armin ignored his logic and agreed with his friend. They walked down the stairs and out the building they used to call home. The streets were empty and silent. All Armin could hear was the shuffling of the gravel beneath their feet as they walked through the town. The sun was at its finest now that the afternoon had arrived. The sky was the perfect shade of blue. Eren's hand around Armin's was warm. This moment felt all too perfect. They soon arrived at one of the well known theater, at least in this little town. Eren pulled his blonde headed friend inside and went up to the desk. Red carpet, golden pillars and railings. This place too fancy for the likes of them to be there.

"Eren?" Armin whispered. "What are we doing here?" 

Eren ignored him and tapped on the tiny silver bell on the front desk. A girl with long golden blonde hair ran behind the counter. "I'm so sorry! May I help you?"

"I would like to do a magic show here." Eren said with a straight and serious face.

The girl looked at him with the most innocent blue eyes known to man and smiled. "I'm afraid that is impossible. I---"

"He can have my spot." A man's voice behind them sent chills through Eren's spine. The young brunet turned to see his number one idol. Levi Ackerman. His piercing gray eyes looked straight into Eren's. "You better make it good Kid." His arms were crossed as he spoke. His voice was deeper than you would think from someone so short. 

Eren smiled and could hardly contain his excitement. "Thank you sir! I won't let you down sir!" He looked at Armin as his heart raced with pure joy. "We could make money off of this and get our apartment back. That way you won't have to worry anymore."

This caught Levi's attention, but he decided to not announce this. The brunet had been showing pretty good skills but something about him peaks the older man's interest. This kid had some kind of power that don't even count as tricks. The things the kid did weren't just tricks. It was almost he was using...real magic. In order to understand the situation more clearly, he would have to experiment and observe this young brat.

~~~

Eren peeked out from behind the curtain to see a full audience and Levi sitting in the very front row. His idol was going to observe him and his magic. If he screwed up, this could be the end to all his effort toward his dream. The young brunet pulled on the black suit that was given to him as Armin helped him with the tie. For some reason, they gave Armin a female outfit. He had on a yellow tutu with a black vest over it with see through black stockings that went up to his thighs. He almost looked like a girl. 

"Eren?" Armin poked his friend's reddened cheeks. "Are you ready for this?"

Shooting back into reality, the young brunet magician nodded with a smile. "We will give them the best show ever." He got down on one knee and placed a gentle kiss on Armin's soft delicate hand. "Have trust in me tonight."

"I'll always have trust in you." Armin smiled as their eyes stared into each other's hearts. 

Eren rose up a little towards his friend's face. Everything around them seemed to stop. Something about this moment just felt right. Their hearts felt connected even if it was for a brief second. Eren's lips brushed against Armin's.

"Your on in five minutes." A woman with short dirty blonde hair walked behind the curtain while pulling out a pen and jotted down a few things on her clipboard, forcing the two young men apart.

Eren placed his hand on his chest and took a deep breath. "I'm so nervous." 

His blonde headed friend nodded in agreement. "This is the first actual show we've done."

Eren grabbed Armin's hand and placed it over his heart. "It's beating so fast."

He let out a tiny chuckle and pulled his hand away. "You and me both."

"Places!" The woman called out while pointing to where the two young men should stand. She pointed behind the stage. "Blonde one! You go wait behind there until he calls you up!" 

"Right!" Armin nodded then looked at Eren. The look on the brunet's face gave away his nervousness all too much. Armin gave his best friend a pat on the back. "You got this." Eren looked at Armin with his big green eyes. "I trust you." He gave his friend one last pat before running off to get into the position he was ordered to be in.

Eren took one last deep breath. Armin had faith in him and he's smart. So that means Eren needed to have faith in himself. Patting his cheeks, Eren could feel his nerves become less shaky. The curtain began to open as the crowd's eyes lifted to the young man revealed on stage. Eren smiled and greeted the audience as they cheered.

"Welcome to my very first real magic show." He bowed. "I know you all came here to see the amazing Levi Ackerman do his magic, but I promise this will be just as good. Maybe even better."

Levi's eyes shimmered at the boy's confidence. That was good.

Eren held out his hand toward the backstage. "Will my lovely assistant join me on stage?" Armin walked out on the stage and took hold of his partner's hand. "Armin Arlert is here to help me with this trick I have prepared for you." Armin bowed. "Have you ever wanted to be noticed?" Eren tapped Armin's nose and watched it slowly disappear. "Maybe by your mom or dad or even an idol." He tapped Armin's mouth and it disappeared. "Have you ever felt invsible?" Eren snapped, making Armin slowly fade away. "Have you ever felt like no one care whether you live or die?" He punched where Armin was supposed to be but only caught thin air. "Have you ever gotten to the point where just a glimpse from a stranger was all you needed?" Eren clapped and Armin's bright blue eyes appeared. "You notice everything, but no one has ever bothered to notice you." He snapped, causing the eyes to disappear. "You notice them smile and frown." Armin's mouth appeared with red lipstick painted on his lips as they smiled. "But what do they notice." A tiny tear rain out of thing air and landed on the stage and created a tiny little stream around the invisible man. "This world will cut you down." Eren took out a saw from a box that was placed on the stage and raised it to the air. He pulled and pushed it against the air as a puddle of red just poured out. The audience gasped and a few screamed. All except Levi who just sat there emotionless and motionless. Eren dropped the bloodied saw on to the stage. "But only a few stand above it all." Armin's top half came into view. "It is amazing how a tiny glance," Eren pulled Armin close to him and looked deep into his eyes, "could make a huge difference." His bottom half became visible but was on the other side of the stage. "But it takes that one special person to pull it all back together." Eren clapped as the bottom half of his friend reattached itself to the rest of him. "Even though it doesn't feel like it, someone always notices." He looked at Armin and wrapped his arms around him as the audience applauded. A few still sat in their seats as they try to comprehend what just happened before their eyes.

Levi stood up from his seat and slowly made his way on stage. "Nice job Kid. But it seemed a little simple." He crossed his arms as his face remained emoitionless. "I have an offer. How would you like to come tour America with me?"

Eren placed his hand over his mouth with pure shock and surprise. His idol, Levi Ackerman, had just asked him if he wanted to go on a tour with him. "Yes!" He looked at Armin and hugged him again. "We did it Armin!"


	4. Step Three: Realization

The airport was packed with all kinds of people. Rich. Poor. Cool. Nerdy. Young. Old. There wasn't one quiet place in the whole building not even the bathrooms. Armin felt his body shake by being around so many strangers in one spot. The theater was one thing, but he was actually in the crowd this time. Without his knowledge, Armin's fingers wrapped around his friend's dull red sweater sleeve. The brunet didn't seem to mind due to his excitement. This would be the first time they left Germany. They were headed to the United States with the famous, Levi Ackerman. Any amateur magician would kill to be in their shoes. 

"Isn't this exciting Armin?" Eren's eyes were filled with so much joy when they burrow into Armin's. "Me and you, together with Levi!" He through his hands in the air, making Armin's grip slide off the sleeve. "I can't wait to make it to America."

Armin sucked on his finger that got a slight burn from the friction of the sweater. "Make sure you have your passport ready." 

Eren pulled out a book of papers. "Already ahead of you." He tossed the book in the air, causing some of the papers to fly out of them. Armin ran around catching the papers his brunet friend decided to try and lose. "Just imagine it!" He twirled around wrapped his arm around Armin's waist and pulled him close to him. He pointed to the ceiling. "Us on a stage in front of thousands of people who have gathered around just to see our magic." Armin tried to grab the remaining papers, but Eren's grip around him was too tight which caused him to miss a few. "I can't wait to share that moment with you."

Armin finally pulled himself away once Eren's grip loosened a bit. "We won't get anywhere if you lose these papers." He picked up the remaining papers and the sight of Eren's picture caught his eye. Of course, he took the picture in his magician outfit. Well, the outfit before he met Levi. His top hat his mother made, his red sweater, and his white undershirt. Armin picked it up and gazed at it. He didn't realize the delicate smile that had made its way on to his face along with the gentle look in his eyes. "It's been a long time." And he's been by Eren's side through all of it. Even when he tried to leave, Eren wouldn't allow it. 

~~~

"Eren!" Armin ran into the tiny apartment room with a jar full of money. "I finally raised enough money to move out!" 

Eren lifted his head off the pillow and looked at the jar that was resting in the blonde's hands. "Move out?" He sat up. "Why would you need to move out?" 

Armin jumped on to the bed with his knees under him as the few coins hit the side of the jar. The smile on his face started to make Eren a little upset. "Well, you won't have to worry about me anymore. And I won't be in your way whenever you need to use the sink or shower or cook. You'll have more freedom without me."

"No!" Eren pulled the jar out of Armin's hand. The reaction wasn't what Armin had expected. The brunet was even confused by his sudden action. "Why were smiling?" He couldn't control the shaking of his body as his grip tightened around the jar. His eyes began to twitch and fill with tears, but he kept his attention on Armin. "Do you want to leave me?" The thought shattered his heart.

Armin shook his head. "That's not it." The blonde looked down at the bed and curled his fingers around thin white blanket. "I feel like I'm just weighing you down." Tears flowed out of his eyes. "The last thing I want is to be a burden to you." Placing his blue sweater sleeve against his eyes, he continued to doubt himself. "You could do so much more without me. You could find someone more talented than I am. Someone that could have more trust in the crazy things you do. You always make decisions based on me and I hate it. I'm the reason your talented hasn't been noticed yet." 

Eren watched his blubbering friend as he rolled his eyes. "Your right. I could." He sat on the bed and took Armin's arm around from his face. He placed his friend's hands around the jar as he placed his over them. "What happens when I don't want anyone else?" The two men looked at each other at the same moment. Eren gazed into Armin's tear filled blue eyes. "You really think I could just toss you out like that." He slid his thumb under the palms of Armin's hand as his fingers curled out the top. "Armin." His grip tightened around the delicate hands within his. "Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?" Eren pointed to the door, making the doorknob disappear along with locking it. 

Armin gasped when Eren pulled him into a hug. His arms were so strong and warm and safe. Tan, rough hands landed on his cheek, raising his face to meet those breathtaking green eyes. That was the first time Armin actually felt his heart race for his brunet friend. Their eyes closed as their foreheads gently connected. For once, Armin actually felt like he was needed.

~~~

But that was Eren's gentle approach toward the subject. Armin placed the picture back into the booklet it fell out of. "Hey Eren. How would you feel about me moving out?" Armin picked himself up just to bump into a taller, tan, brunet lad that had made himself over to him.

"I forbid it." Eren flicked the blonde's forehead. He went behind Armin and ripped open the tiny blue backpack that was thrown into his shoulders. "You don't have another jar, do you?" Eren rummaged through the backpack like he was on a hunting mission. "Cause we could use that money for bills and food and souvenirs, or we could use it to thank Levi."

Armin turned around a little too quick which made a notebook fall out of it. He gasped and quickly fell to the ground to pick it up. "It was just a stupid question." He slipped off his backpack and placed the notebook back inside. "Do you know where Levi and Mikasa are waiting for us?"

~~~

"Hey Mikasa!" Eren rushed inside the gigantic mansion. "Armin and I were invited to go tour America with Levi Ackerman!"

She immediately grabbed a miniture notebook and pulled out a pen from behind her ear. "Date and time."

"Tomorrow at twelve." Eren looked at Armin who have him the thumbs up.

"A.M. or P.M?" She asked while jotting down a few things. 

"A.M." Armin answered, knowing full well what was happening in her head.

Mikasa pulled out her cell phone and typed vigorously. A few seconds of silence went by until the phone started beeping. "Alright I'm free. Let me get my things packed."

~~~

That's how she got involved in all this. Mikasa could easily do work from her phone. Armin pulled out a cell phone Mikasa had given him in secret. If Eren ever found out, he wouldn't be too happy about it.

"I have to use the bathroom." He dropped the tiny device into his khaki pocket. "It won't take long."

"What do you think I'm gonna do? Leave you?" The brunet chuckled as he motioned for Armin to go.

The blonde nodded and ran far enough away so he could use the phone in peace. "Now, how does this work?" He pressed a few buttons until the light finally turned on. There was a little book icon with an outline of a man. When he pressed on it, Mikasa's name popped up since she was the only contact he had. He pressed on her name alone with the green phone icon. It looked like it was ringing so he raised it to his ear. 

"Where are you?" Mikasa screamed into the phone almost making Armin's ears bleed.

He slowly placed the phone back against his ear. "Well we forgot where we were meeting."

"We're meeting in the bagging area. We just went through security and waiting for you two." She answered while hanging up.

Armin put the phone back in his pocket and went back to Eren. "We should go through security first." He zipped up his backpack and threw back over his shoulders. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Eren's hand just dangling by his side. Without his knowledge, the pale, trembling hand reached for his pal's until Eren turned around. His hand quickly pulled away.

"We're almost there!" Eren lifted his friend into his arms and held him tightly in bridal style. "Let me show you things you've never seen before." 

Armin placed his hands over his face as his cheeks glowed red. "Eren this will look weird." Two guys in this kind of position is bound to stir up some whispers and gossip and it probably wouldn't be good for Eren's career. "Please put me down."

Eren ignored the request given to him as he walked through the airport toward the security area. There were in fact people giving them off stared and a few looked excited to see two me together. Having Armin in his arms made Eren feel warm. This was what he wanted. Armin and him together forever. As friends was fine, but what Eren wanted was more. He just didn't know what. Girls have asked him out before, but it never felt right with them. With Armin, everything felt perfect. Armin was all he needed. "How about I hold you like this forever?" 

Armin pushed himself out of Eren's arms and chuckled. "Eren don't say things like that." His eyes saddened at his own words. "You don't want people to get the wrong idea." 

The brunet grabbed his friend's hand and whipped him around to face him. "And what if I do?" The surprised look on his pal's face was melting his heart. "Armin..." His eyes looked straight into those blue orbs of his, using all his strength to not look away. Those eyes could tell so many stories of their past together. "...I think--"

An arm quickly cut them apart and stood in between them. "Levi is waiting for you." The dark blonde chick from behind the stage forced them farther apart. "Eren Jaeger and Armin Arlert, correct?" 

The two men nodded to the question. Eren squinted his eyes and poked the woman's cheek. "Who are you?"

"I am Petra Ral. I am Levi's assistant." She placed a pink pen behind her ear while pressing her clipboard to her chest.

The brunet's green eyes widened with excitement. "You assist Levi with his magic!" His legs bent and straightened in a bouncing motion like a kid expecting candy. "That means you've been on stage with THE Amazing Levi. You've seen his magic!" Eren looked at Armin with his usual boylike excitement then back at the dark blonde woman. "What I wouldn't give to be in your place!"

Armin couldn't help but feel a tiny bit sad by that last statement. He wanted to avoid thinking of Eren ditching him just so he could be with Levi. Pulling off his backpack, Armin left the two as he made his way through security. Eren would never leave him. Would he? He turned around to see the two still talking like they didn't notice he was gone. After security checked his bag, he picked it up and held it against his chest. He pulled out the notebook that had fallen out of his backpack early. He opened it and looked through every single magic trick Eren had done with him. Just him. Armin was his partner. He was hand chosen from the beginning to be with Eren through it all. Looking through his notebook, he started to feel better and stopped himself from doubting. 

Eren turned around to see Armin had disappeared. "Armin?" His heart raced as random thoughts ran through his head. "Armin got kidnapped!" He knew that cute, sweet, innocent little man would be a target for someone. Little did those bastards know that Armin was his partner.

"I'm over here!" Armin waved from behind the metal detector. "Just waiting on you!"

The brunet let out a sigh of relief when he saw his friend was alright. He didn't have any luggage except his tote bag. When he walked through the metal detector, the alarm went off. "The hell?"

A police officer walked up to him and handed out his hand. "May I take a look?" Confused, Eren took off his tote bag and handed to the much taller and wider man. The police officer ended up pulling out a miniture sword. "Excuse me sir. Why are you starting this?"

"So I can stab my partner with it during my magic show." Eren smiled innocently, not knowing what hole he was digging for himself.

Armin rushed over and pulled Eren behind him. "He didnt really mean that. You see, he's a magician and this is our first time in an airport. So please let us off with a warning." He begged, trying to look as desperate as possible.

Luckily, the police officer agreed. "Very well. But this," He pointed to the blade, "stays with me."

The blonde young man nodded. "Of course, it's all yours sir." He grabbed Eren and pulled him away before he could cause any more trouble. 

Finally, they made it to Levi and Mikasa. The two of them didn't look too pleased by how late the two were.

Armin bowed in apology. "Sorry. We got caught up in a few things." He raised his head to see no emotion on either of their faces. This scared him but relieved him at the same time since he had no idea if they were mad or fine.

Levi sat in one of the chairs and crossed his arms and legs. "Take a seat. It's going to be awhile before the plane is ready."

Petra sat beside him along with Mikasa. The two young men just looked at each other and smiled. Armin sat on the floor in front of the giant glass window and watched planes take off and land. Of course, the brunet joined him by his side. Without even thinking, Armin leaned against his friend's shoulder. Everything felt perfect with him around. There was never a boring moment with Eren here. Many people may think they knew him, but Armin would always know more. A slightly larger hand placed itself over his hand. Their fingers intertwined with each other as they kept their eyes out the window. It may look weird to other people, but to them, it was perfect. 

"Armin." Eren whispered so only they could hear. "I think, I--"

"Our plane is ready!" Mikasa yelled out to the two men, pulling Eren away from his best friend. "Have your tickets?"

Armin nodded and pulled out both tickets since Eren kept losing it on the way to the airport. His loose sweater pocket wasn't great for keeping things together. Before he could hand it to Eren, Mikasa snatched it out of his hand and wrapped Eren's hand around it. She pushed him toward the plane entrance along with everyone else. Armin just stood there alone for a few seconds wondering what just happened. This airport wasn't a safe place for a little guy like him that's for sure. Too many emotions in one place. He quickly caught up with them.

"Mikasa get off me!" Eren shouted while yanking himself away from her. "We almost left Armin." Ignoring his adopted sister's pleads, he walked over to his blonde friend and took his hand without even asking. "I don't need magic to explain how important you are me." He chuckled while pulling Armin onto the plane with him. Armin didn't quite understand the last statement Eren spoke, but he decided not to question it.

The plane seats were very...dull looking. They were this dark, dirty blue color with gray backs. Even the dull floor looked sad. You would think the Amazing Levi would have a better way of transportation like first class or something. Good thing, Armin had a ticket for the seat next to Eren. If he had to sit with anyone else, he would scream. They got the seat near the front which made Eren have an idea. Once everyone was in their seats, he stood himself up. But was immediately pulled back into his seat by his beloved Armin.

"I know it's tempting but you can't do magic here. At least not your kind of magic. It'll send everyone into a panic." Armin whispered into Eren's ear. 

The breath from Armin's lips kind of made Eren's body shiver with some kind of feeling. He didn't know what it was, but that felt exciting. Having him that close, Eren was having trouble containing his emotions. His cheeks were slowly turning red as his fingers curled around the arm rests. Armin had been this close before, so why was this feeling showing up now? He glanced at Armin just to see his innocent blue eyes sparkling as he saw the outside world through a tiny airplane window.

"Armin." The blonde turned to face his green eyed pal with a smile. "I think, I lo--"

"Make sure you buckle up for take off." The pilot ordered over the speakers.

An attending went in front of the plane and gave the demonstration on how the buckles worked. Believe it or not, this really helped Eren figure it out. The plane began to move which made the brunet start to tremble. This was not a good place for magic anymore anyway. Suddenly, a soft, warm feeling landed on to his hand and held it tight. He knew that feeling anyway and immediately returned the action. This wasn't the time to admit it, but he may have fallen for his best friend. Armin had become the source of his magic. In fact, Armin was his magic.


	5. Step Four: Darkness

The crowd cheered as he walked out onto the stage. The feeling of fame running through his veins was the best feeling he could ever have. Everything was coming together. His dreams were coming true. He was proving his doubters wrong. His magic was the best in the world and no one could prove otherwise. The crowd silenced as a massive shadow grew behind the young magician.

"Help!" A certain blonde fellow's voice was heard, but he wasn't seen.

Those green orbs rolled across the stage as his happiness turned into panic. "Where are you?" He called out while throwing open the curtains. Running past the shadowy figure almost like it was normal or always there. There was no sign of his blonde friend. Finally, the brunet snapped his head around to face the creature before him. "Where is he?" Venom was coating his words as he took a step forward. The creature stayed silent and just stared at him with his lifeless, colorless, cold eyes. His fingers curled into fists as his body trembled. "Where is he?" Every feeling inside of him felt real. The shadow figure lifted itself off the ground to reveal the blonde on the ground. He just laid there motionless and lifeless. The young magician looked him in horror. "What did you do?" He yelled while walking toward his friend until the figure jumped in front of him. He lifted his shaking, bony like finger and pressed it against the brunet's chest. The young man's eyes trembled as he held back to feeling to cry. "It's my fault." The thought just came to his mind. He lifted his eyes to meet the figure's. "What's happening to me?" The figure slid his finger across the young man's chest and down his arm until it came across a tiny mark on his arm. Suddenly, the finger transformed into a needle and stabbed it into the brunet's arm. He tried to scream, but his voice was taken away.

"Eren!" A blonde man yanked the figure away from him and held onto the brunet tightly. His heartbeat was racing along with the brunet's. His chest rose and fell calmly though. His eyes looked up to see those perfect dark blue orbs looking back at him. "I trust you."

A smile had almost appeared on the young magician's face until suddenly, a shadow like sword pierced through his friend's chest. This black substance oozed out of the wound as the blonde pushed his best friend away from him. The brunet looked at this site as the blonde fellow was sliced into many tiny pieces. He couldn't move. Soon, the shadow figure turned his gaze back to the brunet and shook its head. It stepped over the pieces of the once lively and happy child.

"Get away from me!" The brunet didn't hold back his tears any longer. "Take anything you want." He pressed his knees against his chest. "Just don't take him away from me."

The shadow figure just shook his head as he reached for the young man. It gently stroked through the thin hair upon the brunet's head.

"Armin..."

~~~

His eyelids slowly opened as the plane was descending from the sky. A yawn escaped Eren's lips when he stretched his body out. He looked beside him to see the chair empty. His tired feelings immediately disappeared as panic began to set in. He looked in front then behind him but couldn't see the familiar blonde strand of his beloved Armin. When he tried to pick himself up, a certain pain shot through his arm, making him fall back into his seat. He lifted up his dull red sleeve to see a blood running down his arm from his wound that happened years ago. Back when his dad...

Eren threw his sleeve back down and picked himself up. "Armin!"

"Yeah?" Eren shot around to see his blonde friend standing behind him. "Are you alright?"

The brunet quickly grabbed his friend and pulled him into an embrace.

"Just a bad dream." His heart raced as he held Armin in his arms. Just the mere sight of him brought joy to his heart. "Armin, I--"

"You may now exit the plane." The female attendant announced, causing everyone to get up and rush to their luggage in the compartments above their heads.

The crowd split the two men apart as they all pushed through to get off the plane. Armin was the first one pushed off the plane. Then came Eren. The anger of being constantly interrupted was starting to sink into the brunet's brain. This was becoming frustrating. It was like the universe was against him falling in love with Armin. Or maybe it was just bad timing. Just maybe. His nerves immediately washed away when a certain delicate hand wrapped itself around his sleeve. That was when he also noticed, the blood was gone. Almost like it was never there. The pain had vanished also. He started at the little blonde fellow and wondered what kind of magic did he have. Every time he was around, everything just vanished. God, he loved this smaller blonde fellow. He hovered his arm over his friend's shoulders until the usual dark blonde woman knocked it away.

"We have work to do before your next show." She held up her clipboard and pulled out her pink pen. "Levi booked you a show at the New York Theater. It's a small theater but a good place to start." Petra placed the pen inside her pocket. "But we must get a few things straight. I understand you want to be all lovey with your boyfriend but I'm afraid that will not be allowed in public."

"Why the hell not?" Eren shouted as his anger began to rise again. "I can do whatever the hell I want with MY boyfriend!"

"Eren!" Armin shook his head in pure surprise. "We're not dating."

Eren looked at him and sighed. "I know that." The realization of that fact brought his entire ego plummeting back down. "I was just saying."

Petra rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I know it's hard, but please keep this whole closeness at a minimum. Believe it or not, the majority are not a huge fan of gay couples. I'm surprised people actually liked you with a male assistant." She pushed a chunk of her hair behind her ear and let out another sigh. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy, I promise."

"Well, you're not doing a really good job," Eren commented with a tiny bit of attitude in his words. Then he shrugged and grabbed Armin's hand. "My magic isn't worth losing Armin. I would rather be closer to him than the world."

Armin sighed in frustration, but he couldn't bring himself to deny him. In fact, the thought of being close with Eren brought a smile to his face and made his heart race. The warmth of his body would always remain imprinted on to his body. After he thought about it for a moment, they did kind of acted like a couple. Sleeping in the same bed. Holding hands. Saying romantic things. Wanting to close to each other. Eating together. The one thing missing was the kiss. Gasping from that last thought, his cheeks began to heat up and painted themselves with that lovely shade of red. He looked down at the polished white marble floor. Maybe just maybe he felt the same way toward Eren. It was just a thought, but maybe he loved Eren too. Even though it could harm his future, Armin wanted to stay by him. "E-Eren..." He looked up to meet those perfect, unique green orbs of his that always sent beautiful chills through his body. Those eyes felt like they were piercing right through him and revealing all his thoughts and secrets. "Um...Nevermind." His heart wouldn't allow him to admit it. It was racing too fast for this brunet that had been his friend since the day they were born. So why were these feelings showing up now? His lips tingled at the thought of feeling Eren's pressed against them. Their bodies intertwining also appeared in his mind. Just looking into his eyes could cause all these thoughts to run through the blonde's mind. Without even thinking, Armin grabbed the collar of the magician's red sweater and pulled their lips closer together until a book was inserted between them.

"We have a lot to do to get Eren ready for tonight. Time here is different then it is in Germany." Petra pulled the book away as Armin released his friend's collar.

The poor blonde began to tremble at what he almost did. He almost kissed his best friend, Eren Jaeger. He covered his mouth and took a few steps away from the two as they talked about what Eren needed to wear and what tricks he would perform and who would be his partner. Wait...what?

"Armin cannot be your partner here. This is America and the harsh reality is that most assistants for males are females." She reached into a purse that was thrown over her shoulder and pulled out a tiny list with names on it along with pictures of the most beautiful women he's ever seen. "There are a few we could hire on short notice."

Eren ripped the list out of her hand and ripped it into tiny pieces. "Armin is my assistant and always will be. I'm sorry that it doesn't work with your image." He walked away without another word.

Armin couldn't help the smile on his face. He cheerfully followed his angered friend. "Thank you." He whispered, mainly to himself. Little did he know that Eren had the exact same happy smile after hearing those tiny words.

~~~

Mikasa helped Armin get into his new uniform with the yellow dress with the black vest over it. She even added the little black rabbit ears that went along with it. She also helped with tiny black heels. Armin twirled around with a bright smile and did a little pose. This may sound stupid or weird, but he really liked the whole cross-dressing thing. It made him feel special and nothing could beat the look Eren have him every time he wore it.

Eren walked into the room in his tuxedo and magician's hat. Once again, his eyes lit up once he saw Armin. Tonight was the night everything was going to change the way everyone saw them. He didn't care what the world thought of them. If Armin felt the same way he did, tonight would be the best night of his life.

The lights dimmed as Eren walked into the stage. The crowd clapped and cheered as they prepped themselves for the best magic show ever. The lights switched back on to full power.

Eren raised his arms. "Thank you, everyone, for coming." His hand reached toward backstage. "For this trick, I will need my assistant, Armin Arlert!"

The young blonde's legs began to tremble. What if him being here did ruin Eren's career? His worried eyes raised the Eren's green ones. The tiny wink from his friend told him everything was okay. His feet forced him to run out on stage and hug him. The crowd cheered.

"Have you ever loved someone?" Eren twirled his blonde assistant and poked his finger against his chest. Armin's beating heart started to phase through his flesh. He reached into his tote bag when suddenly, something jabbed him in the palm of his hand. His face winced a tiny bit but not much. He put a smile back on his face as he pulled out a tiny sword Levi allowed him to borrow for tonight. Suddenly, Eren noticed his blood dripping down the blade. When he looked at his hand, there was nothing there but the blood was certainly visible. He shrugged and held the sword in the air. "Would you die for them?" The sword impaled Armin's visible beating heart. The crowd gasped but applauded. Soon, something didn't feel right. His eyes drifted off the audience and on to his friend who laid in his arms lifeless. His chest had stopped rising and his breaths have stopped escaping his precious lips. He looked at the crowd as his hand shivered. The blood started dripping upward when he flipped the blade in the air. "Um..." Something wasn't right. His tricks had never failed like this before. His eyes began to tremble along with the rest of him as the tears flow out. The crowd stared at him with worry and awe. Those stares just stabbed him in the heart. They had witnessed everything that could have gone wrong.

Silly boy.

An echo in his head snapped him out of his saddened trance. He looked around the room to see who could've said such a thing. But nothing was there except the audience.

It's all your fault.

Eren lifted his blonde lifeless friend closer to his chest as his eyes continued to dart around the room. "Who are you?" He called out, causing confusion around the theater. "Show yourself!"

Idiot!

The sword began to shake as it lifted itself up into an upright position, covered in Jaeger's blood. The blade twisted to point at the blonde male in the magician's arms.

He is trouble!

The brunet shook his head. "Armin would never do anything dangerous!"

IDIOT!

Eren stood up with Armin in his arms. He looked out to the crowd and took a deep breath. His heart pounded almost like it was trying to rip open his chest. "I, Eren Jaeger, have fallen in love with--"

NO!

The whole room was drowning in the red substance that had left the sword. It rained from the ceiling as it rose. Soon the whole crowd was covered, but they couldn't see or understand what was happening.

Idiot!

"How am I an idiot? It's only natural to fall in love!" Eren shouted then something suddenly snapped in his head. He looked down to see those precious, pink, plump lips of his best friend. This was wrong to kiss someone in their sleep, but it was all he had. The brunet closed his eyes and raised Armin to his own lips. The crowd watched with suspense as the two males got closer and closer to contacting lips.

DON'T!

Their lips connected. The feeling of Armin's freezing soft lips against his chapped warm lips was like magic. His heart raced as he deepened the kiss he had been longing for, for so long. Melting the ice away, Armin's lips were slowly becoming warmer as his eyes opened. The blonde's heart returned inside his body as the wound closed shut. Imagine the surprise on the young blonde's face when he realized the love of his life had been kissing him. Eren slowly disconnected their lips and smiled into his friend's dark ocean blue eyes. "I love you."

NO!

A shadowy figure appeared on the stage. The one from Eren's dream. Idiot! He pointed at the blonde and curled his finger. Die! From out of nowhere, a hole appeared under Eren, causing him to fall through. He reached his arm up. "Armin!" The hole closed once the blonde one almost fell in.

"Eren!" Armin looked at the spot where his beloved had fallen through, but there was no trace of anything of that could have opened up. "Eren!" He continued to scream his name over and over as tears rolled down his eyes. He slammed his fists against the wood of the stage to try and break it open. "Please! I love you!"


	6. Step Five: Stay Calm

"Idiot." A whisper ran through the darkness.

When he opened his eyes, Eren was sitting on his mother's lap as she stitched what looked to be a hat. The fire was burning. Everything felt so warm and relaxing. Just him and his mother along with his father and sister cleaning up the kitchen. He watched his mother sew together the hat he had been waiting for. His tiny childhood green eyes watched every stitch she made with excitement.

"Calm down Eren." His mother chuckled. "You might hurt yourself." Her voice had that tender motherly sound to it. Always soft. Always caring. Eren loved his mother more than anyone in this world.

~"Eren!" A voice of stranger rang in his ears. It sounded urgent and scared and somewhat upset. "Please! I..." The voice just disappeared.

When he turned back to the sight he once had, he realized it had changed. He was outside with his sister, playing some kind of card game. Eren played along like nothing was wrong. Ignoring a tiny uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Everything looked too happy and real to be fake. This was the life Eren had always imagined for himself. This what he remembered. These were his memories. Right?

~"...love you."~

His head snapped. Someone was missing. But who? Mikasa was there. His mom was there. His father was there. But something within this fantasy seemed empty. His heart didn't feel whole. He was satisfied, but he wasn't happy. Blonde. Something to do with blonde. Blue. Ocean. He could see blonde strands flowing past his eyes as the world around him began to fade. Blue orbs appeared in front of him, sending chills through his veins. Someone important was missing, but who? Who could it be? He had everyone. He had everyone he needed. He had everyone he wanted.

"Hey, Eren!" A deep voice from behind him called out. His father held a bag that he used for medical things. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

His face softened but looked a tiny bit confused. "Sure..." That tiny uneasy feeling rose within his stomach again when he stood up. The closer he got to the man, the more uneasy he felt. Almost like butterflies were ripping apart his insides.

The older man took ahold of the tiny baby hand of Eren. The scene changed to a dark area. Trees surrounded them as rain fell from the gloomy gray clouds. The sky above soon faded to a dark red color. Not the one he loved to see on...someone. The lightning blinded him a split second. When his vision was collected, a shadowy figure stood above him. It grabbed his arm with the strength it didn't look like it had. The brunet child began to panic as the butterflies within him began stabbing him with their proboscises. He tried to yank himself away, but before he knew, he was already on the ground. The shadowy figure pulled out what looked like to be a syringe.

"This will make your dreams come true." Its voice sounded old and worn out. It hissed on the 's' parts of a word. "Magic is what you desire." He took out a bottle of this purple liquid with something swimming around in it. "I will give you power like I did you father." The needle sucked up whatever substance was in there along with the creature inside of it. "Magic must be all you desire or else this power will destroy you."

~"Eren!"~

His head was swirling around with all these questions and thoughts. His body was unable to move as the needle got closer to his skin. "I learned my magic on my own!"

The shadowy figure cackled as slime oozed from its mouth. "Do you really think your magic can be used by anyone?"

~"Eren!"~

That voice made his heart race and pound out of his chest. "I love you too." He whispered under his breath. The world around him began to shake and crumble.

"Get him out of your head!" It looked at the needle and took a deep wheezing breath. "This will make you forget."

"What if I don't want to forget?" Eren asked.

The world was cracking and pieces fell around them. The brunet could see the panic flowing through the figure's body. "Please! Or else you'll kill us both!" It flicked the sides of the syringe to make sure the creature was still alive. "In fact, I'll make you!" It jabbed the needle inside his arm, making the young boy scream in pain. "Forget! Forget! Forget!"

He wrapped his hand around the needle and tried his best to pull it out. "I won't forget!" The needle lifted a tiny bit out of Eren's flesh. "I won't ever forget!" His eyes narrowed with anger and determination. Those green orbs shot up to look at the figure before him. "I, Eren Jaeger, am in love with a man!" The needle lifted out of his flesh more as this glowing blue light surrounded it. "And his name is..."

The figure shook his head and begged him not to say his name. "Please, you don't know what you're doing!"

"Armin Arlert!" The needle was ripped out as the creature inside of it disappeared. Eren began to grow from a child into the young man he was. He forced himself to his feet and pushed the weakening creature away from him. "I would rather die than spend the rest of my life without him." He yanked the syringe out of its hand and jammed into its own flesh. "Armin is better than magic!" He pushed the substance out of the syringe into its veins.

"No!" It screamed as its dark skin began to melt away. "Idiot!" Soon it was nothing but broken ones on the dull ground as the world around them continued to crumble.

Eren stood there as pieces of this word phase through him. Darkness began to cover his surroundings until there was nothing left. He stood there as images of Armin's sweet, innocent smile. All these memories they shared wee stuck with him forever. No matter what happened.

~~~

Armin finally pulled Eren out of the whole he was in. He was a lot heavier than he thought he would be. In fact, Armin needed help from the incredibly short Levi. They hoisted him onto the stage. Armin looked at his brunet friend's unconscious face, hoping for some kind of miracle. Suddenly, Eren's breaths ceased to exist. Everything just stopped.

"No." Armin patted the brunet's cheeks in an attempt to wake him with some kind of miracle. "Eren!" He placed his head against Eren's chest, but there was no longer a heartbeat.

Mikasa rushed over and pushed Armin out of the way and held her brother in her arms. She didn't even try to hold back her tears. They fell like no tomorrow. Brushing her fingers through his hair, she kept whispering her name and how much she loved him. Finally, the curtains closed once everyone realized what was going on. None of it was an act.

Armin laid there on the stage. Going over all the events in his head as his heart slowly broke. This was all his fault. He got too close. He ruined everything. The tears were now starting to build up in his tear ducts. Teardrops rained from his dark blue eyes. He didn't even contain his whimpers. Suddenly, a magician's hat was dropped I'm front of his face. His vision was slightly blurry from the tears, but he knew who's hat it was. When he looked up, Levi was standing over him with that emotionless look on his face with his arms crossed.

"Get up." He demanded while extending his arm out to the young blonde. "Go out there." His voice dropped. "You know what to do."

Armin blinked, causing two last tears to fall down his cheeks. What could he do? He couldn't do anything. If he tried, everything would fall apart again. His brain tried to think of a way where he could help without fucking anything up. Then, from out of nowhere, an idea arrived in his head. His distressed face quickly changed into determination as he grabbed the hat and helped himself up. He pushed through the curtains and smiled to the crowd. "I apologize for that delay!" Looking at the crowd, he bowed with his friend's head on his chest. He flipped the hat onto his head. "Now! Have you ever loved someone so much?" He pointed to the hat. "Have you ever loved so much, you would do anything for them?" The crowd looked confused as the strange blonde man continued. "I have." He straightened himself up and took a deep breath. "Eren! I love you!"

~~~

He could hear echoes from his beloved. Eren stood there, surrounded by complete darkness. Nothing ahead or behind him. Just him and those beautiful echoes. The darkness around him sometimes whispered. "Idiot!" "Stupid!" "Worthless!" After a couple of minutes of constantly hearing those whispers, Eren began to believe them. The realization of never seeing Armin again killed him inside. His voices could only help so much. In fact, the sound of his voice made him want to see him even more. Love him. Kiss him. Hold him. Touch him. These feelings made him feel pathetic and defenseless. Needing someone so much to the point he literally gave everything away. His family. His life. His love. His mind. Everything was for Armin. It always had been. The poor young brunet finally began to feel lonely. Darkness was not the best company for him. It couldn't talk. It couldn't love. It could only sit there and watch as everything faded. He began to wonder if all this was worth it. Maybe, he could've fallen in love all over again. No! That would cause more trouble than there was at the moment. But at least then, he could see Armin again. Being away from his lovely assistant made his heartache the more he thought about him, but his mind would not take him anywhere else. At that moment, Eren finally realized the tears that were streaming down his face. He missed him and nothing was going to change that. He was going to live with this feeling forever. His mother had left him and now he left him. Must run in the family.

~"Eren! I love you!"~

~~~

Those green eyes of his shot open as air rushed into his lungs a little too fast, causing him to cough. The light was blinding and the air tasted a lot staler than it used to. Once he regained his senses, Eren took a look around to see Mikasa, Levi, and Petra. They all looked at the young man in pure shock. His sister threw her arms around him and began to cry tears of pure joy. 

"Where"s Armin?" His voice was weak and shaking along with his body as it began to calm itself down. 

Levi pointed toward the curtain. "He's out there doing your show." 

The crowd stayed silent as the blonde returned backstage. "I don't think it worked Levi." He commented while keeping his eyes on the tiny slit in the curtain that revealed a tiny bit of the crowd.

"Everything worked just fine." Levi pointed to the brunet that was laying in his sister's arms.

His eyes were wide when he saw the blonde. His heart raced as tears flowed from his tear ducts. That short time in the darkness made him realize how much this one man meant to him. Just the mere sight of him made his whole life become a whole lot brighter. Eren forced himself up and wobbled his way. He immediately wrapped his arms around Armin from behind and held him as tight as he could. "I love you."

The blonde young man gasped but smiled. He placed his delicate, pale hands over the much tanner and slightly larger hand that had been placed on his chest. "I love you too, Eren."

The dark blonde chick walked over to them and cleared her throat. She bowed. "I am so very sorry about the way I was treating you two. I was just doing what I was taught." Petra looked up at them with big eyes that begged them to forgive her. Of course, they did. This moment was too perfect to mess up.

Levi looked at them and smiled a tiny bit. "Don't you have a show to do?"

Eren's joy disappeared. He turned to Levi with a saddened expression as his fingers fidgeted around with each other. "Well, you see, I no longer had the magic I thought I had."

The older yet shorter man gave him a quick glance. "That's not true." His eyes motioned toward the blonde one that still lingered in the brunet's arms. "I think your magic is just fine." He crossed his arms while gesturing to the stage with his head.

Armin smiled and handed him the hat his mother once made for him. Of course, the brunet took it with a huge smile while wrapping his arms around Armin tighter. He immediately looked into his eyes and made their lips connect. Both lips were for so soft and plump. Armin slowly closed his eyes along with Eren as they shared a tender, loving kiss. When they parted, Petra immediately pushed them out of the stage.

"Go show them what two men can do!" She giggled while hiding behind the curtains.

The two men looked at each other and blushed at what they COULD do. They looked to the crowd. Their eyes were I'm shock when they saw the man that had literally risen from the dead.

Eren bowed to the crowd while plopping the magician's hat over his head. "Have you ever been trapped?" He went behind Armin and covered his eyes. "All you could think or feel was pain." He used his other hand to poke his new boyfriend's chest. "The one thing that could bring you back was love." He removed the hand over Armin's eyes and created a heart shape using both of his hands. "Just remember, darkness isn't forever." He pulled Armin close to him and pecked his lips with his causing a loud SMACK to echo throughout the auditorium. "So just remember to stay calm." The lifted his blonde lover into his arms and walked backstage as the crowd just sat there in silence, not understanding a damn thing that had happened that day.

Eren ignored the happiness of the people awaiting him behind stage. "Not now." He gave them a quick glance along with a smirk. "I got things to do with my new boyfriend." The blonde man immediately blushed with different shades of red, Eren's favorite red color, as they disappeared through the back door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this fanfiction. You were all really supportive and positive towards my writing skills. I really hope I didn't disappoint you all with this ending. Sorry if it didn't make sense. But thank you all again for everything :) let me know if you want a sequel to this or another ship I could do.


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